G4338 — προσηλόω (proseloo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4338
Original: προσηλόω
Transliteration: prosēlóō
Pronunciation: pros-ay-lo'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Compound of πρός (G4314, "toward, to") + ἧλος (hēlos, "nail") — literally "to nail to"
Occurrences: 1 in NT (1 token, 1 unique verse, 1 book)
First (only) Occurrence: Col 2:14 — "nailing it to his cross"
Hapax Legomenon: YES — appears only once in the entire Bible

Lexicon Definition¶

From πρός (G4314) and a derivative of ἧλος (a nail); to peg to, i.e. spike fast: nail.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 18 — Attachment
Subdomain: 18.002 — Fasten, Stick To
Other words in subdomain: ἀνίημι (G447), ἀσφαλίζω (G805), δεσμεύω (G1195), δέσμη (G1197), δέω (G1210), κολλάω (G2853), κρεμάννυμι (G2910), λύω (G3089), περιδέω (G4019), σύνδεσμος (G4886)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
nailing	1	100%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Colossians	1	1.1

Single NT occurrence exclusively in Paul's Colossian letter. Entirely absent from the rest of the NT and from the LXX.

Morphological Form¶

The sole occurrence is an aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine:

Reference	Form	Parsing
Col 2:14	προσηλώσας	[V-AAP-NSM] Aorist Active Participle, Nominative Singular Masculine

The aorist participle indicates a completed, decisive action — Christ's once-for-all nailing of the cheirographon to the cross.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Permanent Cancellation of a Legal Document by Nailing¶

The word's sole use describes the act of affixing a debt-certificate to the cross, rendering it permanently void. Three verbs operate on the same object (the χειρόγραφον, "handwriting of ordinances"): ἐξαλείψας ("blotting out"), ἦρκεν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου ("taken out of the way"), and προσηλώσας ("nailing"). The nailing is the climactic, irrevocable action.

Col 2:14 — "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross"

Common Collocations¶

No statistical collocations available — hapax legomenon with only one verse. The immediate context of Col 2:14 includes:

Word	Strong's	Contextual Pattern
χειρόγραφον (cheirographon)	G5498	"nailing the handwriting" — the object being nailed
σταυρός (stauros)	G4716	"nailing it to his cross" — the surface to which it is nailed
ἐξαλείφω (exaleipho)	G1813	"blotting out" — the parallel cancellation act
δόγμα (dogma)	G1378	"of ordinances" — content of the document nailed

Word Family / Cognates¶

πρός (G4314) — preposition: toward, to; the directional prefix
ἧλος (hēlos) — nail (noun; the root noun is not itself assigned a separate Strong's number in the NT; cf. ἧλος used in John 20:25 variant readings)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
κρεμάννυμι (kremannymi)	G2910	both involve fastening to a cross/tree	kremannymi = "hang" (suspend from); proseloo = "nail to" (spike fast to a surface)
σταυρόω (stauroo)	G4717	both relate to crucifixion	stauroo = "crucify" (the act of execution on a cross); proseloo = "nail to" (the physical fastening, used metaphorically of a document)

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 18.002 — Fasten, Stick To)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV Translation
G447	ἀνίημι	3	forbearing
G805	ἀσφαλίζω	3	made sure
G1195	δεσμεύω	2	binding, bind
G1197	δέσμη	1	bundles
G1210	δέω	27	bound, bind
G2853	κολλάω	4	joined
G2910	κρεμάννυμι	6	hanged, hang
G3089	λύω	9	loose
G4019	περιδέω	1	bound about
G4886	σύνδεσμος	4	bond, bands

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew LXX source found for G4338. The verb is a specifically Hellenistic compound with no direct OT Hebrew equivalent. Cross-testament trace not applicable.